After another day of bedrest, and a few more days full of physical therapy and testing his new servo, Ultra Magnus seemed like a new bot. It wasn't just Verdant who noticed, but an unspoken agreement passed between each member of Team Prime that their strict commander had changed after his injury.
There was more... leniency.
That was about it though. Ultra Magnus didn't change that much. He still has a stick up his aft.
Verdant kept herself calm and collected, optics offline and appendages hooked up to the computer. She was trying to go gray again, but so far, she wasn't having much luck.
Especially since Wheeljack thought it would be a good idea to paint her tentacles pink last night and she couldn't get over the feeling of dried paint in the crevices of her armour.
She had felt tremendously happier once she sedated him and splashed the bucket on his unconscious frame. The fragging wrecker got exactly what he deserved.
And he couldn't even clean it off because the Team got called to go investigate some signals.
"Still no luck?" Ratchet asked.
"Nope," Verdant onlined her optics and looked at him. "I've nearly downloaded every file in this computer without a single hint at going gray."
"Hmm," he walked over. "You really should let me take a look at your systems in case this is the work of Soundwave. We don't know what else could be hiding in there."
"I've checked my systems," Verdant pinched between her optics in annoyance. "There's nothing there."
Ratchet crossed his arms. "Soundwave is a skilled officer. He's Megatron's first choice as a third in command. If he didn't want you to know, he would have hidden it."
"Ugh, fine," Verdant rolled her optics. "You can check once the others get back. We're needed to man the groundbridge and Raf is sleeping."
"You're right," Ratchet backed off. "Until then, how would you feel about looking over my synthetic energon equations? It's going slow."
"Just equations?" Verdant questioned, standing up and following him to his work station. "I'm not the most proficient scientist."
"Neither was I," Ratchet sat down. "And I'm still terrible at physics."
She smiled. "Well, that's something I can do."
"Oh, and—" Ratchet reached over and pointed at a set of numbers on a datapad. "These are the constants around Earth. For example, this universe has a gravitational constant of 6.67×10-¹¹, which makes a massive impact on the structure of their elements, which we'll need to use in order to make the synthetic energon on Earth."
"I hate that gravity is different everywhere," Verdant frowned. "It's unnecessarily complicated, especially when I have to calculate how far Commander Magnus and I need to go in order to avoid the pull of black holes and Arathnezian crustaceans."
Ratchet nodded. "Speaking of Ultra Magnus, you both seem to be on much better terms now."
Verdant hummed and started working out the math. "Yes, well, there isn't much that a sensible conversation can't fix."
The comms crackled to life. "Autobot control," Optimus called through the comms. "Open the groundbridge, but ensure that the humans are kept at a safe distance, for we are bringing back a Decepticon prisoner."
Ratchet and Verdant's helms snapped up, and they looked at each other, optics wide with surprise.
"Quickly, get the humans," Ratchet ordered as he ran over to the bridge controls.
Verdant leaped up and found their three human compatriots still sleeping on the couches. She picked both couches up and carefully carried them to the med-bay.
"Ugh," Miko started to wake up. "We're painting unicorns again?"
"Yes, now close your eyes," Verdant set them down and hurriedly left the med-bay.
She wasn't ready for the scene waiting for her once she exited the hallway. All the bots were crowded around a hurriedly modified stretcher that their prisoner was strapped to.
Their prisoner was Soundwave.
"Optimus took 'im down during our mission," Wheeljack told her as she stepped up next to him. "I really wanna take off that visor, how about you?"
"We have more important priorities," Verdant pursed her derma and looked to Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus. "What are we going to do with him?"
Optimus crossed his arms. "The Decepticons have been raiding human facilities ever since their predacon project was blown up. We need to know what Megatron is planning."
"Let me dismantle him," Ratchet piped up. "I can take a look inside his processor and—"
"No," Optimus stated rather sternly. "That is a last resort."
Wheeljack elbowed her. "I told you that all medics are sadistic."
"Shut up," she hissed.
Optimus approached their captive. "Soundwave, we have treated you fairly. Tell us what Megatron is attempting to build."
The communications officer's audials blared and screeched as he played back a mocking recording. "T-TE
WHA-T MMMEGGGG BUILD—ATTRONN UILDD UP YO FTTT AFTTT!"
"Optimus the remix," Miko grinned from the floor.
"What?" Verdant glared at her. "Get back to the med-bay!"
Optimus did not pause. "We will determine the cause of Megatron's plans eventually, and it would benefit you the most to tell us before we are forced to utilize extreme measures of interrogation."
The 'con's visor lit up with a purple and red smiley face before he spoke again. "Soundwave superior, Autobots inferior."
Verdant watched as his screen changed again and she jumped forward. "He's offlining himself!"
They had no way of stopping him.
Soundwave went into stasis lock.
"You should've let me dismantle him," Ratchet crossed his arms.
"Sadist," Wheeljack whispered to her.
She smacked him.
Optimus scowled. "Regardless of whether or not he has provided us intelligence, the Decepticons are now missing their communications officer and one less threat for us on the battlefield."
Verdant looked at Soundwave. "He's useless to us now that he's deleted his systems."
"Except maybe as a bargaining chip," Arcee mused. "We could pull a Megatron and trade the bastard for... something."
"Megatron is not likely to bow down even for his best officer," Ultra Magnus said. "He rarely accepted such proposals on Cybertron and the pattern is likely to hold on Earth."
Optimus nodded. "He is too prideful."
"So we should kill him," Wheeljack shrugged.
Verdant smacked him. "And you call me a sadist!"
"We will explore different paths forward," Optimus told them slowly, looking sharply at Ratchet and Wheeljack. "Until a decision is made, Soundwave is not to be touched."
"Prime!" the comms buzzed. "I'm on my way back to base now, but I've received word that the Decepticons are going after a solaris particle collider in the South Pole. I'm sending coordinates now."
Optimus turned to his Team. "We will go. Bulkhead, Smokescreen, stay here to guard our guest."
"Guest," Wheeljack snickered. "Have fun with that."
"Get out of here," Verdant shoved him toward the opening groundbridge.
He snorted and left, taking up the rear of Team Prime. Verdant watched as the groundbridge closed before looking at Ratchet. The medic glared at her, as if already knowing her thought process.
He put down the scalpel and stomped off to his station so he could throw a temper tantrum in solitude.
"Soooo," Smokescreen walked over to her. "Now that Ultra Magnus isn't breathing down my neck, would you like to go on a date?"
"Huh?"
Bulkhead facepalmed. "Smokescreen, have you not noticed that Verdant and Wheeljack are... you know?"
Smokescreen blinked. "What? No, she hates Wheeljack!"
"How did you–" Verdant turned away. "No. I'm going to go, uh, wait for Fowler."
"Can I wait with you?"
Verdant cringed. "Bulkhead, didn't you need help cleaning the... something-inator?"
"Yep," Bulkhead grabbed Smokescreen. "Come on, buddy. We can dish out some romance in the maintenance shaft."
"But–"
"Dear Primus," Verdant shook her helm once the two of them were gone.
Her attention was drawn away at the sound of the door swinging open and creaking loudly. Agent Fowler took a few steps in before stopping.
"What's that sou–"
The glass window near the ceiling suddenly exploded inward and Lazerbeak shot into the base. Verdant yelped and took a step back as he flew straight for Soundwave.
"BULKHEAD! SMOKESCREEN!" she yelled.
Ratchet let out a battle cry before chunking a wrench with pinpoint precision and hitting the drone. Lazerbeak careened sideways for a moment before righting his course and heading once more for his master.
Verdant ran, getting between him and his target. She pulled the blaster from his side and pointed it at him, shooting twice before the drone returned fire. She ducked to the side.
The blasts hit the restraints and freed the offline communications officer just moments before Lazerbeak descended and connected himself to Soundwave's chassis. The visor on the TIC's helm onlined, processing a data transfer from the symbiote.
Verdant jumped up, grabbing the drone and trying to yank him off. Lazerbeak dug his tentacles into Soundwave and held on tight.
"Get off you stupid bird!" Verdant gritted her denta and pushed against the stretcher.
Soundwave chose that moment to online.
"Oh, frag."